Decreasing costs, state and federal tax incentives, the availability of solar financing, solar leases, power purchase agreements, and increased awareness of the correlation between greenhouse gasses (e.g., carbon dioxide emissions) and climate change, among other factors, have increased the popularity of photovoltaic (PV) or “solar” energy generation systems with consumers, businesses and utility companies.
A conventional solar energy generation system includes an array of PV modules connected together on one or more strings and a combination of individual component systems, such as a combiner for combining direct current (DC) outputs of the one or more strings, one or more string inverters for converting the combined DC output from the strings to alternating current (AC), and a physical interface to AC grid power—typically on the load side of the utility meter, between the meter and the customer's main electrical panel. In jurisdictions that allow for net energy metering, the solar energy generation system provides excess AC power back to the AC grid, resulting in cost benefits to the customer and/or owner of the system.
The numerous component systems in conventional solar energy generation systems and storage systems are complex to operate and relatively expensive to install. The numerous individual component systems also induce inefficiencies in power flow, often requiring several conversions of power between a power source and a load where each power conversion induces a degree of power loss. Additionally, each conventional solar energy generation system needs to be individually designed for the installation site at which it is to be installed, thereby rendering these energy generation systems inflexible in design and use. Moreover, conventional solar energy generation systems require all or some of the component systems to be positioned at ground level, resulting in unpleasing aesthetics. In light of these shortcomings of conventional solar energy generation systems, improved energy generation systems are desired.